


You're Not the Only One

by FairyRave



Category: Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Genre: Gen, I don't think there will be relationships, Lord of the Flies AU, Sibling Rivalry, but there will be friendships made, friendships, with girls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2018-08-10 05:17:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7831897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairyRave/pseuds/FairyRave
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <cite>“Girls can’t be chief. That’s only a man’s job.” Some of the boys nodded in agreement.</cite>
</p><p>
  <cite>“You aren’t a 'man' though,” the same voice fired back. Interestingly, the group broke into chatters.</cite>
</p><p>
  <cite>Sputtering, Jack tried to make a comeback. The girls started giggling at the spectacle - even Lily couldn’t help it but smirk. Jack then turned as red as the color of his hair.</cite>
</p><p>
  <cite>Another girl spoke out. “Why don’t we have two chiefs? Like one boy and one girl, so they both can discuss things.”</cite>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Boys are bloody gits!

Lily fumed as she stalked away from the little gathering running amuck. She had to be stuck with her dumb brother with the stupid group consisted mainly of boys on the plane. If that wasn’t bad enough, the stupid plane had crashed on a practically deserted island with no sophisticated, responsible adults. No sight of the wreckage. No order. No civilization. 

When Lily couldn't take it anymore, she leaned on a nearby tree and finally broke. Though she didn't actually break into tears like most girls would in her shoes, she instead felt like a boat was rammed into her lungs repeatedly.

If her mother were there, she would tell her to chin up and fight on. If her father were there, he would tell her be brave and take life in strides. But they aren't. 

Realization struck her as her brain finally came to a halt. We are stranded alone on a deserted island and all of them were just a bunch of children.

A sudden snap drew her back to the present.

Lifting her head up slowly, Lily noticed a young girl fiddling with a tip of her raven colored locks that reached her small shoulders. Her navy blue skirt was a bit ruffled and dotted with sand. The girl’s chocolate-brown eyes danced from Lily to a blade of grass on the ground. The young girl wasn't much at first glance since she just radiated nervousness. “Sorry, um, are you alright Miss?”

Lily blinked. After a few seconds, she finally registered the brunette’s question and straightened herself. “I’m alright. Thank you for asking. Do you need anything?”

“No. Well, I just thought... well… you might want to come back…” Her cheeks steadily became a bit more pink and then quickly she added, “That is if you are feeling better!”

“Oh. I think I’m ready to come back now. Thank you.” Not really.

“Okay.” The young girl spinned around with a twirl and took off back towards the assembly.

Sighing, Lily took in a much needed breath and step towards the direction the young brunette went.

 

\---------------

 

The stroll back actually helped Lily immensely as it got her body to do something. The sun kissed her skin whenever Lily passed spots without shade. She was thankful for the cool air as the ocean’s winds blew, dancing atop her hair like fire. Maybe this isn’t so bad.

Finally, Lily caught sight of the assembly. She took in account the boys weren’t running about. A blond boy that looked about Lily’s age stood at the center of the gathering, seamlessly bringing order to the unruly younger boys, to Lily’s surprise. Before that, they were running around careless and oblivious of their situation.

The fair-haired blond held a pale, rose colored shell which caught a lot of their attention, including her’s. A conch, she thought, I only read about them in books.

Some girls ranging from about primary to secondary ages huddled close to each other, less distress than earlier. Lily also finally took into account a familiar group of boys that stood nearby with black cloaks and black caps atop their crowns.

“We ought to introduce ourselves.” 

Apparently the blond boy was named Ralph, and strangely, the slightly obese boy with round specks was named Piggy according to Ralph, which made many of them giggle. Lily suspected that the boy was just being rude.

As soon as more names were shared, Lily was lost in thought. Though she did catch that the twins were called Sam and Eric, and couple of others like Roger, Simon, Anna, Olivia, and Emma. 

“Kids’ names,” said a familiar red head like her’s. “Why should I be Jack? I’m Merridew.” Internally, Lily groaned when the he stated his name like that, but mostly ignored him. 

“Oi. What about your’s?”

Eyes turned at Lily and she stiffened.

“Lily.”

Many either nodded in acknowledgement or were chatting lightly with each other after their introductions. From the corner of her eye, Lily noticed that Jack was eyeing her till he caught her evergreen eyes looking back, and turned away quickly.

In an attempt to act dignified, Jack stated, “We’ve got to decide about being rescued.”

Whispers broke through the groups. For once, Lily agreed, though didn’t said it out loud.

“Shut up.” Ralph absentmindedly held up the conch. “Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things.”

“A chief! A chief!”

Like the other girls, Lily rolled her eyes at the boys antic. Typical.

“I ought to be chief,” said Jack with simple arrogance, “because I’m  
chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp.”

“What about us?” Piped a voice somewhere within the cluster of girls.

“Girls can’t be chief. That’s only a man’s job.” Some of the boys nodded in agreement.

“You aren’t a ‘man’ though,” the same voice fired back. Interestingly, the group broke into chatters.

Sputtering, Jack tried to make a comeback. The girls started giggling at the spectacle - even Lily couldn’t help it but smirk. Jack then turned as red as the color of his hair.

Another girl spoke out. “Why don’t we have two chiefs? Like one boy and one girl, so they both can discuss things.”

Murmurs pasted over and many of the boys and girls agreed.

A dark haired boy, Roger, if Lily could remember correctly, stirred at last and spoke.

“Let’s have a vote.”

The assembly buzzed with excitement, and reluctantly Jack agreed, possibly due to the overwhelming agreements. 

As Ralph held the conch up again, all the attention came back to him.

“Alright. Well let's start off with the boys then. Who wants Jack to be chief?”

Noticeably, the choir rose their hands and surprisingly, some hands from the girls.

“Who wants me?”

Almost immediately, everyone outside the choir hands shot up. Lily rose her own hand too and lastly Piggy’s. Ralph nodded after he finished counting.

“I’m chief then.” Ralph took a look at Jack 

The circle of boys and girls broke into applause - even the choir applauded. The freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification. He started up, then changed his mind and sat down again while the air rang. Ralph looked at him, eager to offer something.

“The choir belongs to you, of course. Well, you can be… an army or something.”

“Hunters then. We will be hunters.”

“And now for the girls. Which one of you wants to be girl chief?”

Whispers broke out as two names came up. 

“It’s either Emma,” a primary age looking girl pointed at a girl with raven black hair, “or her.” The primary age girl state while pointed at Lily's direction.

Lily blinked in surprise. Why me? I didn’t even try to draw attention to myself. Lily shifted uncomfortably but nod in acknowledgement.

“Who wants Emma?” 

About half or the girls rose their hands and some of the boys looked between Emma and Lily then finally about half put their hands up.

“Who wants Lily?”

The other half of the girls shifted their hands up, same with the boys - some of the choirboys included.

“There you have it. Lily is the girl chief.” Claps and shouts came around till Ralph held up the conch again, and silence fell upon them.

“Listen, everybody. I’ve got to have time to think things out. I can’t decide what to do straight off. If this isn’t an island, we might be rescued straight away. So we’ve got to decide if this is an island. Everybody must stay ‘round here and wait and not go away. Three of us—if we take more we’d get all mixed, and lose each other—three of us will go on an expedition and find out. I’ll go, and Jack, and, and. . . ”

Lily was a bit impressed of Ralph's authority and how he carried his new found leadership role already. Ralph surveyed the group before him and stopped at a boy before he announced the third person.

“And Simon.”

Simon was a skinny looking boy with black hair that hung like curtains. A bit meek, too if it wasn’t for the fact he agreed to come along.

“All right. Lily, since your girl chief, you can organize everything here along with Piggy, while the three of us are gone.”

Lily stood a bit taller and nodded. She then noticed that the red haired boy glanced at her again with a calculating look. As the trio left, Piggy looked nervously at her before wiping his palms on his tattered trousers and took off to catch the boys.

A sigh left Lily before she thought of a plan and much needed essentials.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((A/N Well I wrote this awhile ago for a school project and decided, "Hey! I should post this online since it's technically a fanfic and I should post it to get more kudos and followers! AHAHAHAHHAHAH!!!!"
> 
> The editor this time is Crysis Commander and his link can be found here: https://www.fimfiction.net/user/Crysis+Commander
> 
> I don't think I'll make another chapter though considering I don't have the motivation to write as much as I have for art. 
> 
> As for arts, I made a video to go with the project though it's actually for the original story (meaning there are only the original characters in that video). I also want to apologize for the terrible sketches, since I've spent till 3:22 am on a school night drawing to finish that project. Which is an impressive feat on my part. I can only blame myself considering that I was assigned this a couple of weeks ago, but I'm a huge procrastinator when it comes to big projects apparently.))
> 
> So here's the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3yBkGzTOkVoVTNHMmtwYWYtR0E/view?usp=sharing
> 
> Also my art stuff is located here: http://fairyrave.deviantart.com/


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **((A/N: Finally! Chapter two to You're Not the Only One is done. Much of this scene are quoted directly from the original text. Only this and maybe the next chapter will be like that. Eventually, it'll diverge to its own AU. Also, this was betaed by the great BluegrassBrooke. Enjoy!))**

Light flickered against the shoreline. The push and pull of the tide struck the glistening sands with a gentle rhythm. Breathing in, cascading against the minute sands—breathing out, dragging them back out into the vast sea, smoothing the land in its wake. In. Out. In. Out. A push and pull—a constant opposing, calming harmony.

The seawater itself rested in a type of bowl. Not entirely closed off from the greater ocean beyond, but in a sort of crescent. The reef just underneath the surface reflected the light shining their kaleidoscope of color.

Inland were lush greens and creepers that weaved together seamlessly like a spider's web. The trees stood as a boundary—drawing a line between the beach and the forest. Though the children tended to stay under the protection of the shade, they made sure they were never too far from the water.

Lying on the warm bed of sand, a girl raised her finger to trace the clouds. The cotton-like clouds painted the vast blue canvas with various shapes that could be depicted with a bit of childlike wonder. The girl giggled at the one that strongly resembled a bunny with a nice, puffy tail.

"Hey."

She hummed in response to the voice as her finger trailed back to the cloud bunny's nose.

"Do you think this looks pretty enough? I remembered my sister making these in our garden, near the flower beds. You know, that was the last time I saw her. She came for a visit at the time too. Well—" The girl paused.

"—well she got married the year before you know? I mean I guess you don't know. I never met you till now. Well, she makes these flowers into crowns back home then. Though mine's not as great as her's, but it's alright."

Shrugging her shoulders she showed her work to the girl who was just starting to trace the bunny's front foreleg. Tilting her head to the side, she observed the younger girl's work.

The younger girl had bright platinum locks that curl cutely just under her chin. Her frame looked petite with her white sleeves rolled up just to her elbows and cradled delicately in her hands was the prize.

The crown had obviously been made by inexperienced fingers—some stems sticking out, others bent at odd angles. The circumference of it was more of an oval than the traditional circle. The flowers themselves though were made into a unique pattern of pale pinks, purples, and blues. Overall, the piece was indeed pretty.

"That looks nice."

The younger girl gave a grin showing all her teeth. Her bright turquoise eyes sparkled with mirth much like the glistening waters nearby, while her sunkissed skin flushed pink. Her locks bounced a bit above her head."Thank you!"

She then went back to work. The girl's small nose scrunched up in concentration and her hands worked feverishly to add the next sequence to the crown.

Content, the older girl then decided to get up from her lying position in favor of a sitting up with her legs crossed liked a pretzel. Then feeling the need to find something new to do aroused. The older girl decided to observe her surroundings.

A group of boys and girls were milling about chatting with each other as they lazed around the lagoon. Others seem to be collecting anything of value near the tree line or beach including sticks, shiny shells, or occasional funny-shaped rocks. The younger ones were either entertaining themselves with a game of tag or pattycake or simply just poking anything of interest with a stick. Though most were splashing about in the cool lagoon for relief from the summer heat.

From her vantage point, the fiery ginger that was recently dubbed 'girl chief' looked to be discussing something with a couple of the older kids and some hunters.

"Hey."

The girl with the flower crown announced her presence again. The older girl hummed in reply.

"What's your name again? I get confused with names, well I get confused in general."

"Olivia Neith."

"Mind if I call you Vivi? I like giving people I like nicknames."

Olivia had a distant look of content before nodding.

"I think that would be fine."

"Well, my name is Ailsa Anna Fay. Most people call me Anna since my first name is so similar to my big sister, but you can call me by Ailsa or Anna. Anyways, nice to meet you, Vivi."

"You too."

Turning her head back towards the sky, Olivia went back to tracing the bunny.

**~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~**

"This could work."

"I dunno know. Is it enough for everyone?"

"I dunno know."

"We can try finding more food if we go deeper into the forest over there. Not too far, mind you. I think we should go as soon as the boys come back. For now, we should ration what we have and find more of those coconuts."

Glancing up, Lilly took in account of the collection of calculating eyes. The twins, Sam and Eric held their thumbs up.

A chocolate brown eyed girl to the right of her right spoke out. "Don't we need to take in account of shelter for the night or at least somewhere that isn't too close to the ground? Do you know what could crawl onto you in the middle of the night? Bugs, that's what. Ugh. I hate bugs. They're really creepy with their ickiness."

Camille, the short raven hair girl, screwed up her nose in disgust.

Next to her Emma, a brunette with cascading locks and dark skin, started to voice her thoughts. "Bugs aren't that bad. There are butterflies and ladybugs. Though I do agree with the shelter part, we need to sleep on something."

"Alright, I suppose it sounds like a plan. We'll wait for the others to come back and tell them what we came up with."

The surrounding heads nodded in agreement.

Out of the peripheral of her vision, she notices Piggy, the moderately overweight boy with glasses, looking at her, mouth open for a brief second before he slammed it shut again. Then he frowned and shook his head. After a few seconds, Piggy resigned to inclining his head too.

Lily gave the group a muted smile and nodded to acknowledge everyone. After closing the planning session between the older kids, they broke for recess.

So far, Lily felt that being girl chief wasn't so bad, or as bad as she as first thought. The others listened to her and even tried to contribute a bit here and there. The little ones weren't causing as much trouble either—well considerably less so than she originally concluded. She actually dreaded that everyone was going to burn the island or, even less likely, kill each other, or something.

The 'chin up and take life in strides' motto she had applied in her current 'chiefdomship' helped suppress her anxiety immensely. Similar to how she held herself in public places back home. It may look as if she was in control on the outside, with her passive calculating attitude, but in her mind, scenarios ran in wild disarray. Therefore, she wasn't one who wanted to be in the spotlight by choice. She never liked it. Adults would tell her that she was a natural born leader like her brother. Lily had no clue how they deduced that, but it bothered her. How her prat of an older brother acted back home didn't help much self-esteem wise.

They were close once. "Two peas in a pod", as some may have said. They use to do everything with each other, such as sharing secrets or toys with one another. Heck, they had even sneaked into each other's room on some nights. Though, it was Lily who would usually go to her big brother's room on a stormy night for protection. Storms was, fortunately, one of her biggest fears that she hadn't grown out of yet.

One day, their parents had told them that her brother was going to be sent to a boarding school. Even worse, she would only see him on hols or around summer and he would be gone again for half a year. Lily had attempted to cry, but it to no avail. She had tried demanding that she should come with him. They laughed, then had carefully told her that she was too young and that it was a school for boys only. They had even said she would be going to another school in a year. The same day, the two of them, she and her brother, plotted to sneak Lily in with him. Though they were caught soon after.

The first year he was gone was torturous for Lily. She had sulked in her room for weeks.

The time the school year came to a close, Lily couldn't sit down. She was so ecstatic, she even sang, "He's coming home! He's coming home!" at the top of her lungs. Her parents didn't really appreciate that after day three.

When he did came home, he was . . . distant. It wasn't noticeable at first. She was too happy he was home. But the days Lily had asked him to play games they usually play with each other, he would pause then reluctantly agree. Sometimes he would only play for a couple minutes before rushing off to do something else. And then other times when he tried to leave, Lily would beg for him to stay longer. Only then did she notice he was there out of obligation. Instead, Lily would try to ask what was his school like and his eyes would light up, telling her how great it was and how he had made friends that listen to him. After another year, all he just talk about how his 'friends' and how he even invited them over for the summer.

The day they came. He hadn't spoken her once for the rest of the summer. Sure, there would be the occasional "good morning" or "pass the salt," but he wasn't speaking at her.

It hurt.

Another summer had passed and Lily realized quickly she had grown further from her brother. The same year, she had to take charge of herself. Chin up and take life in strides, was what kept her going.

"Oi! You lot!", the twins' voices broke her revery in an instant.

"They're back!"

"What do you suppose–"

"–they found out?"

"Let's hear what–"

"–they got to say."

Sam and Eric grinned and then scampered off towards the returning figures in the distance.

"I guess we can assume that they would call another assembly. Let's go."

In fact, as soon as Camille's words left her lips, the low melodious sound of the conch could be heard.

"Let's get a move on, shall we."

"We're on an island. We've been on the mountaintop and seen water all round. We saw no houses, no smoke, no footprints, no boats, no people. We're on an uninhabited island with no other people on it."

The crowded meeting took place nearby the pool a short distance from the lagoon on a platform. The shade on the makeshift platform was much cooler with the canopy above the assembly. Though, sun still poured through, shedded light and cast looming shadows. By now, the sun was at the highest point in the sky, which signaled that it was midday.

Some of the younger ones squatted near the grass or clambered onto their elders' knees. Others were dangling their legs from the short trees that hung low. Lily noted that Ralph spoke rather eloquently throughout his explanation of their 'predicament' with the conch in hand.

"So, Lily." Ralph directed his eyes onto her. "What did you lot came up with while we were gone?"

Lily turned her attention to the attentive eyes, "First off, we did found that we're in need of food–"

Jack broke in, which caused Lily to cast a dirty look at the ginger headed male.

"All the same you need an army–for hunting. Hunting pigs–"

"Yes. There are pigs on the island." To convey the trio's story where a pig was struggling in the creepers.

"We saw–"

"Squealing–"

"It broke away–"

"Before I could kill it–but–next time!"

Jack slammed his knife into a trunk and looked round challengingly. This automatically made a lot of the little ones to jump. After a while, the group settled.

"Isn't that a bit–violent." A young girl spoke meekly.

"How do you suppose we get meat back home then? Like beef or, in this case, pig. Therefore we need to kill for food."

The younger girl blinked before looking down at her feet with new found interest.

"So you see," Ralph added, "We need hunters to get us meat. And another thing."

The fair hair boy lifted up the cream pink shell towards the light causing light to glisten colors off it.

"There aren't any grownups. We shall have to look after ourselves."

The meeting hummed and was silent.

"And another thing. We can't have everybody talking at once. We'll have to have 'Hands up' like at school."

He held the conch before his face and glanced round the mouth.

"Then I'll give 'em the conch."

"Conch?"

"That's what this shell's called. I'll give the conch to the next person to speak. They can hold it when they're speaking."

"But–"

"Look–"

"And they won't be interrupted," Ralph gave a pointed look all around, "Except by one of the chiefs. Me or Lily."

Lily glanced at Jack with a smirk, and Jack suddenly jumped to his feet.

"We'll have rules!" he cried excitedly. "Lots of rules! Then when anyone breaks 'em–"

"Whee–oh!"

"Wacco!"

"Bong!"

"Doink!"

Most of the girls looked affronted and chaos spread like wildfire.

"Just wait a minute there–"

"You can't just–"

Lily stood up walked towards Ralph and held her hand out. Nodding, he grinned and handed her the conch. Lily then held the shell up and waited. Noticing the conch, the kids gradually got quite.

Jack, left on his feet, looked uncertainly at Ralph who smiled and patted the log. Jack sat down.

"I agree, there should be consequences. Though there's no need to hit someone who breaks the rules." Measuring her next words she paused, "Before the consequences, we need to establish the rules first. Ralph and I will discuss what they are in finer detail, but until then," Lily survey the crowd whom started to murmur with each other, "no hitting."

Lily saw Piggy slowly got up to her. Smiling gently, she handed the pale shell to the boy and promptly sat down.

Then Piggy was standing cradling the great cream shell and the murmuring died down. Piggy took off his glasses and blinked at the assembly while he wiped them on his shirt.

"You all are hindering. You all not letting them get to the most important thing."

He paused effectively. Lily along with most of the kids looked at Piggy with slight confusion. What's the most important thing?

"Who knows we're here? Eh?"

Oh. That important thing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  **Unedited**   
> 
> 
> **((A/N About 5,000 words. 5 FRICKEN THOUSAND! I hope you guys have a happy holiday cause this is my gift. Anyways a lot of this scene was pulled out of the original book and most of them are necessary for the bases of the story anyways.))**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> ****

"Who knows we're here? Eh?"

Oh. That important thing.

"They knew at the airport."

"The man with a trumpet-thing–"

"My dad."

Piggy put on his glasses.

"Nobody knows where we are," said Piggy. He was paler than before and breathless. "Perhaps they knew where we was going to; and perhaps not. But they don't know where we are 'cos we never got there." He gaped at them for a moment, then swayed and sat down.

Lily froze. Her eyes widened as large as saucers.

How could she be so daft?

She knew that they were stuck, but how could she possibly forgotten that they were, exactly that, stuck? She had a panic attack earlier that morning for heaven sake. Especially. Especially, how had she not asked the question, for **how** long?

After that, more questions washed through her mind like a damn that had been broken. **How** long were we stuck? **How** long till we are found? **How** are we, basically **children** , going to survive? **How** are we going home? Are we ever going back home?

Home.

Mum.

Dad.

Family.

Lily had felt something form in her eyes. She blinked. Soon, Lily blanked her features to not reflect how she actually felt inside. She doesn't want the little ones–anyone–to know how she really felt. She was voted a girl chief and she will not let that title burden someone else. She will protect and provide those who can't. She was determined to not let anyone down. Not like how she was let down.

Lily pulled her attention back up just in time and saw Ralph taking the conch from Piggy's hands.

"That's what I was going to say," he went on, "when you all, all. . ." He gazed at their intent faces. "The plane was shot down in flames. Nobody knows where we are. We may be here a long time."

The silence was so complete that they could hear the unevenness of Piggy's breathing. The sun slanted in and lay golden over half the platform. The breezes that on the lagoon had chased their tails like kittens were finding their way across the platform and into the forest. Ralph pushed back the tangle of fair hair that hung on his forehead.

"So we may be here a long time."

Nobody said anything. He grinned suddenly.

"But this is a good island. We–Jack, Simon and me– we climbed the mountain. It's wizard. There's food and drink, and–"

"Rocks–"

"Blue flowers–"

Piggy, partly recovered, pointed to the conch in Ralph's hands, and Jack and Simon fell silent. Ralph went on.

"While we're waiting we can have a good time on this island." He gesticulated widely.

"It's like in a book."

At once there was a clamor.

"Treasure Island–"

"Swallows and Amazons–"

"Coral Island–"

Ralph waved the conch.

"This is our island. It's a good island. Until the grownups come to fetch us we'll have fun."

Jack held out his hand for the conch.

"There's pigs," he said. "There's food; and bathing water in that little stream along there–and everything. Didn't anyone find anything else?"

Emma gave a side glanced at Lily and held her hand up. Jack went over towards her, gave her the shell then promptly sat down next to Ralph.

Emma tossed the couch between her hands looking thoughtful. "Well, while you three were gone–" she gestured to Ralph, Jack, and Simon, "we said we need shelter for the night or at least something to sleep on at night. Like Jack had said, there's food. Well we can collect coconuts for something to drink or snack on." She passed the conch back to Ralph.

"Anyone else?"

The older kids first noticed the child when he resisted. There was a group of little boys urging him forward and he did not want to go. He was a small boy for his age, about six years old, and one side of his face was blotted out by a mulberry-colored birthmark. He stood now, warped out of the perpendicular by the fierce light of publicity, and he bored into the coarse grass with one toe. He was muttering and about to cry.

The other little boys, whispering but serious, pushed him toward Ralph. "All right," said Ralph, "come on then."

The small boy looked round in panic.

"Speak up!"

The small boy held out his hands for the conch and the assembly shouted with laughter; at once he snatched back his hands and started to cry.

"Let him have the conch!" shouted Piggy. "Let him have it!"

At last Ralph induced him to hold the shell, but by then the blow of laughter had taken away the child's voice. Piggy knelt by him, one hand on the great shell, listening and interpreting to the assembly.

"He wants to know what you're going to do about the snake-thing."

Ralph laughed, and the other boys laughed with him. Some of the girls giggled with mirth, while others looked at him with pity. The small boy twisted further into himself.

With fire in her eyes, Lily strided forward and snatched the couch out of his grasps and blew it.

Everyone covered their ears.

Lily gave a look that spoke volumes to the group.

"Now. Let the child speak."

She turned on the spot and swiftly placed the pale shell back in Piggy's hand with a small smile at both him and the young boy.

"Tell us about the snake-thing."

Piggy blinked and cleared his throat, "Now he says it was a beastie."

"Beastie?" One of the girls inquired.

"A snake-thing. Ever so big. He saw it."

"Where?"

"In the woods."

Either the wandering breezes or perhaps the decline of the sun allowed a little coolness to lie under the trees. The assembly felt it and stirred restlessly.

"You couldn't have a beastie, a snake-thing, on an island this size," Ralph explained kindly. "You only get them in big countries, like Africa, or India."

Murmur; and the grave nodding of heads.

"He says the beastie came in the dark."

"Then he couldn't see it!"

Laughter and cheers.

"Did you hear that? Says he saw the thing in the dark–"

"He still says he saw the beastie. It came and went away again an' came back and wanted to eat him–"

"He was dreaming."

Laughing, Ralph looked for confirmation round the ring of faces. The older children agreed; but here and there among the little ones was the doubt that required more than rational assurance.

"He must have had a nightmare. Stumbling about among all those creepers."

More grave nodding; they knew about nightmares. "He says he saw the beastie, the snake-thing, and will it come back tonight?"

"But there isn't a beastie!"

"He says in the morning it turned into them things like ropes in the trees and hung in the branches. He says will it come back tonight?"

"But there isn't a beastie!"

There was no laughter at all now and more grave watching. Ralph pushed both hands through his hair and looked at the little boy in mixed amusement and exasperation.

Jack seized the conch.

"Ralph's right of course. There isn't a snake-thing. But if there was a snake we'd hunt it and kill it. We're going to hunt pigs to get meat for everybody. And we'll look for the snake too–"

"But there isn't a snake!"

"We'll make sure when we go hunting."

At that point Ralph looked annoyed and, for the moment, defeated. He looked like facing something ungraspable. The eyes that looked so intently at Jack were without humor.

"But there isn't a beast!"

The group declined to chaos by than as the seed of doubt was already planted. Lily was about to grab the cream colored shell again, but something Lily had not known was there rose in Ralph and compelled him to make the point, loudly and again.

"But I tell you there isn't a beast!"

The assembly was silent.

Ralph lifted the conch again and his good humor came back as he thought of what he had to say next.

"Now we come to the most important thing. I've been thinking. I was thinking while we were climbing the mountain." He flashed a conspiratorial grin at the other two. "And on the beach just now. This is what I thought. We want to have fun. And we want to be rescued."

The passionate noise of agreement from the assembly hit Lily like a wave and he lossed the thread.

"We want to be rescued; and of course we shall be rescued."

Voices babbled. The simple statement, unbacked by any proof but the weight of Ralph's new authority, brought light and happiness. He had to wave the conch before he could make them hear him.

"My father's in the Navy. He said there aren't any unknown islands left. He says the Queen has a big room full of maps and all the islands in the world are drawn there. So the Queen's got a picture of this island."

Again came the sounds of cheerfulness and better heart.

"And sooner or later a ship will put in here. It might even be Daddy's ship. So you see, sooner or later, we shall be rescued."

He paused, with the point made. The assembly was lifted toward safety by his words. They liked and now respected him. Spontaneously they began to clap and presently the platform was loud with applause. Ralph flushed, looking sideways at Piggy's open admiration, and then the other way at Jack who was smirking and showing that he too knew how to clap. Then to Lily, who was beaming brightly at Ralph. Even some of the girls looked at him with newfound adoration.

Ralph waved the conch.

"Shut up! Wait! Listen!"

Ralph went on in the silence, borne on his triumph.

"There's another thing. We can help them to find us. If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire."

"A fire! Make a fire!"

At once half the boys were on their feet. Jack clamored among them, the conch forgotten.

"Come on! Follow me!"

The space under the palm trees was full of noise and movement. Ralph and Lily was on their feet too, shouting for quiet, but no one had heard them. All the boys at once the crowd swayed toward the island and was gone–following Jack. Even the tiny children went and did their best among the leaves and broken branches. Ralph was left, holding the conch, with Piggy and the girls who just looked bewildered.

Piggy's breathing was quite restored.

"Like kids!" he said scornfully. "Acting like a crowd of kids!"

"No. They act like a bunch of animals!"

Most of the older girls stood up fixing their skirts while the younger ones gossiped about how immature the boys are who've up and left earlier.

Ralph looked at Piggy doubtfully and laid the conch on the tree trunk. "I bet it's gone tea-time," said Piggy. "What do they think they're going to do on that mountain?"

"Well I assume they are going to attempt to set something on fire." Lily walked up grudgingly towards Ralph and Piggy.

Ralph caressed the shell respectfully, then stopped and looked up. "Ralph! Hey! Where you going?"

Ralph was already clambering over the first smashed swathes of the scar. A long way ahead of him was crashing and laughter.

"Seriously?!" Lily screeched.

Piggy watched Ralph in disgust.

"Like a crowd of kids–"

He sighed, bent, and laced up his shoes. The noise of the errant boys faded up the mountain. Then, with the martyred expression of a parent who has to keep up with the senseless ebullience of the children, he handed the conch to Lily, turned toward the forest, and began to pick his way over the tumbled scar.

"SERIOUSLY?!"

"They were awfully up in a rush weren't they?" Emma answered exhaustingly behind Lily.

With a sigh, Lily turned to the rest of the girls and waved her hands to get their attention. "Come on now. Let follow those animals before we loose them."

They had gotten up and the girls unenthusiastically made the trek towards the distant sounds of shouting.

**~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~~-~-~-~**

They had made way towards the other side of the mountain. The girls made the climb swiftly, but they did slow their pace to help Piggy whose breath was ragged and faced flushed red like paint. A pity it was. Nearer to the clearing, the air had felt humid but cooler when the sea breeze blew. Boys bundled back and forth examining pieces of wood–many of which were in the middle of decay. Most of the younger ones seem to lost interest and mill about exploring the area. The older boys had just finished hefting and adding a larger, grotesque log to the growing pile of firewood.

Deciding to not just stand around any longer than necessary, Lily asked if any girls wanted to join in the boys' endeavors. The majority of which looked bewildered to have to do any manual labor, but a few looked ecstatic to get dirty without being reprimanded. Nodding, Lily paused in front of Piggy.

"You should sit down and rest a bit." Remembering the couch was still in her hand, she passed it to the boy with a smile. "You could supervise the younger girls. If you're willing to do that for me?"

He looked uncertainly at her and glanced at the chattering young ones. Then considered her before pushing his sliding glasses back up his sweat clad nose. "Alright. I'll watch them."

After a while Lily, a dark skinned girl, and the twins finally dumped the last armful of dried leaves near the bottom of the pile. They stood back to examine the mountain like sight. Lily walked around the impressive heap and halted to shift some wood away from the grassy area and nodded with satisfaction.

"So. How are you lot going to start the fire?" Lily inquired nonchalantly to the older boys with her eyebrows arching up.

Ralph and Jack looked at each other while society paused about them. The shameful knowledge grew in them and they did not know how to begin confession.

Ralph spoke first, crimson in the face.

"Will you?"

He cleared his throat and went on.

"Will you light the fire?"

Now the absurd situation was open, Jack blushed too. He began to mutter vaguely.

"You rub two sticks. You rub–"

He glanced at Ralph, who blurted out the last confession of incompetence.

"Has anyone got any matches?"

"You make a bow and spin the arrow," said Roger. He rubbed his hands in mime.

Rolling her eyes, Lily gave a pointed look around her and paused at Ralph, "You had suggested to build a fire, but you didn't stop to think about how to start it?" Lily then turned to Jack, "And you gotten us all up here to make that heap?"

They looked about attempting to not seem to be avoiding eye contact.

"Honestly–"

"Mr. Ralph, Miss. Lily?"

The group turned around to see a small girl with a pug nose trying to stand up straight while holding Piggy's hands behind her. Piggy looked uncomfortably around as he fiddled with the edge of his glasses gleaming against the evening sun.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask, with Mr. Piggy help here, if–"

Jack pointed suddenly.

"His specs–use them as burning glasses!"

Blinking, all eyes suddenly landed on Piggy whose eyes widened. Before anyone could jumped on him, Lily voice piped up to prevent another mob made by Jack.

"May we use you specs Piggy? We're sort of in a bit of a spot."

He looked at around him nervously, "I can hardly see without 'em."

"Just for a little while."

With a mumble, "But– Just. Just be careful with 'em."

He reluctantly handed Lily his glasses while she thanked him. Lily then gave them to Ralph whose lip twitched up with a look of amusement.

"Stand out of the light."

There was pushing and pulling and officious cries. Ralph moved the lenses back and forth, this way and that, till a glossy white image of the declining sun lay on a piece of rotten wood. Almost at once a thin trickle of smoke rose up and made him cough. Jack knelt too and blew gently, so that the smoke drifted away, thickening, and a tiny flame appeared. The flame, nearly invisible at first in that bright sunlight, enveloped a small twig, grew, was enriched with color and reached up to a branch which exploded with a sharp crack. The flame flapped higher and the boys broke into a cheer.

"May I have my specs now?" Piggy inquired while attempting to keep the excited young girls away from the crowd.

Ralph stood away from the pile and put the glasses into Piggy's groping hands. His voice subsided to a mutter.

"Thank-you. Jus' blurs, that's all. Hardly see my hand–"

The children were dancing. The pile was so rotten, and now so tinder-dry, that whole limbs yielded passionately to the yellow flames that poured upwards and shook a great beard of flame twenty feet in the air. For yards round the fire the heat was like a blow, and the breeze was a river of sparks. Trunks crumbled to white dust.

Ralph shouted.

"More wood! All of you get more wood!"

Life became a race with the fire and the children scattered through the upper forest. To keep a clean flag of flame flying on the mountain was the immediate end and no one looked further. Even the smallest child, unless fruit claimed them, brought little pieces of wood and threw them in. The air moved a little faster and became a light wind, so that leeward and windward side were clearly differentiated. On one side the air was cool, but on the other the fire thrust out a savage arm of heat that crinkled hair on the instant. Boys and girls who felt the evening wind on their damp faces paused to enjoy the freshness of it and then found they were exhausted. They flung themselves down in the shadows that lay among the shattered rocks. The beard of flame diminished quickly; then the pile fell inwards with a soft, cindery sound, and sent a great tree of sparks upwards that leaned away and drifted downwind. The children lay, panting like dogs.

Ralph raised his head off his forearms. "That was no good."

Roger spat efficiently into the hot dust. "What d'you mean?"

"There wasn't any smoke. Only flame."

Piggy had settled himself in a space between two rocks, and sat with the conch on his knees. "We haven't made a fire," he said, "what's any use. We couldn't keep a fire like that going, not if we tried."

"A fat lot you tried," said Jack contemptuously. "You just sat."

"We used his specs," said Simon, smearing a black cheek with his forearm. "He helped that way."

"I got the conch," said Piggy indignantly. "You let me speak!"

"The conch doesn't count on top of the mountain," said Jack, "so you shut up."

"I got the conch in my hand."

Brushing bit of hair that clung to her forehead, Lily panted, "Even if he did try to help with throwing more sticks, it's no use anyways. Also we all did agree on the conch anyways and you're not a chief. Are you?"

"That's not–"

"Put on green branches," said Maurice. "That's the best way to make smoke."

"I got the conch–" Piggy was cut off when Jack turned fiercely at him with his dagger like blue eyes. Piggy wilted. Lily was about to reprimand Jack, but Ralph took the conch from Piggy and looked round the circle of children.

"We've got to have special people for looking after the fire. Any day there may be a ship out there"–he waved his arm at the taut wire of the horizon–"and if we have a signal going they'll come and take us off. And another thing. We ought to have more rules. Where the conch is, that's a meeting. The same up here as down there."

They assented. Piggy opened his mouth to speak, caught Jack's eye and shut it again. Jack held out his hands for the conch and stood up, holding the delicate thing carefully in his sooty hands.

"I agree with Ralph. We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at we've got to do the right things."

He turned to Ralph. "Ralph, I'll split up the choir–my hunters, that is–into groups, and we'll be responsible for keeping the fire going–"

This generosity brought a spatter of applause from the boys and girls, so that Jack grinned at them, then waved the conch for silence.

"We'll let the fire burn out now. Who would see smoke at night-time, anyway? And we can start the fire again whenever we like. Altos, you can keep the fire going this week, and trebles the next–"

The assembly assented gravely. Lily's face flittered with mix emotions of a bit of astonishment and doubt. More of the latter.

"And we'll be responsible for keeping a lookout too. If we see a ship out there"–they followed the direction of his bony arm with their eyes–"we'll put green branches on. Then there'll be more smoke."

Hopping up, Camille signaled for the conch from Jack. "I guess me and some of us will be gathers–we collect food or water or things. In this case, I think we can get the firewood and green branches for your choir umm hunters." Camille tilted her head as her soft chocolate brown eyes looked around, "I suppose we'll try to help out."

They gazed intently at the dense blue of the horizon, as if a little silhouette might appear there at any moment.

The sun in the west was a drop of burning gold that slid nearer and nearer the sill of the world. All at once they were aware of the evening as the end of light and warmth.

Roger took the conch and looked round at them gloomily. "I've been watching the sea. There hasn't been the trace of a ship. Perhaps we'll never be rescued."

A murmur rose and swept away. Ralph took back the conch.

"I said before we'll be rescued sometime. We've just got to wait, that's all."

Most of the children broke of into groups to discuss about their predicament. Brushing off the remaining soot and dirt as much as she could, Lily had stood up to prepare their next task until she heard Piggy gave a strange sort of laugh as he took hold of the conch. He had a look with the flash of his spectacles in astonishment, beyond them and down the unfriendly side of the mountain to the great patch where they had found dead wood. They followed his gaze to find the sour joke.

"You got your fire all right."

Smoke was rising here and there among the creepers that festooned the dead or dying trees. As they watched, a flash of fire appeared at the root of one wisp, and then the smoke thickened. Small flames stirred at the trunk of a tree and crawled away through leaves and brushwood, dividing and increasing. One patch touched a tree trunk and scrambled up like a bright squirrel. The smoke increased, sifted, rolled outwards. The squirrel leapt on the wings of the wind and clung to another standing tree, eating downwards. Beneath the dark canopy of leaves and smoke the fire laid hold on the forest and began to gnaw. Acres of black and yellow smoke rolled steadily toward the sea.

Lily breath through her pink lips an almost silent, but not quit, "Oh no."

At the sight of the flames and the irresistible course of the fire, the group broke into shrill, excited cheering. Though most of the older girls gave an audible whimper. The flames, as though they were a kind of wild life, crept as a jaguar creeps on its belly toward a line of birch-like saplings that fledged an outcrop of the pink rock. They flapped at the first of the trees, and the branches grew a brief foliage of fire. The heart of flame leapt nimbly across the gap between the trees and then went swinging and flaring along the whole row of them. Beneath the capering children a quarter of a mile square of forest was savage with smoke and flame. The separate noises of the fire merged into a drum-roll that seemed to shake the mountain.

"You got your small fire all right." Piggy repeated.

Startled, Ralph realized that everyone was falling still and silent, feeling the beginnings of awe at the power set free below them. The knowledge and the awe made him savage.

"Oh, shut up!"

"I got the conch," said Piggy, in a hurt voice. "I got a right to speak." They looked at him with eyes that lacked interest in what they saw, and cocked ears at the drum-roll of the fire. Piggy glanced nervously into hell and cradled the conch.

"We got to let that burn out now. And that was our firewood."

He licked his lips.

"There ain't nothing we can do. We ought to be more careful. I'm scared–"

Jack dragged his eyes away from the fire. "You're always scared. Yah–Fatty!"

"Oh, you just shut up yourself, Jack! Everyone is scared! We are all stuck and you're just–"

"I got the conch," said Piggy bleakly. He turned to Ralph. "I got the conch, ain't I Ralph?"

Unwillingly Ralph turned away from the splendid, awful sight. "What's that?"

"The conch. I got a right to speak."

"He's right though–", Emma piped.

The twins giggled together. "We wanted smoke–"

"Now look–!"

"Just let it go Pigg–"

A pall stretched for miles away from the island. All the kids except a few started to giggle; presently they were shrieking with laughter. Piggy lost his temper.

"I got the conch! Just you listen! The first thing we ought to have made was shelters down there by the beach. It wasn't half cold down there in the night. But the first time Ralph says 'fire' you goes howling and screaming up this here mountain. Like a pack of kids!"

By now they were listening to the tirade.

"How can you expect to be rescued if you don't put first things first and act proper?" He took off his glasses and made as if to put down the conch; but the sudden motion toward it of most of the older boys changed his mind. He tucked the shell under his arm, and crouched back on a rock.

"Then when you get here you build a bonfire that isn't no use. Now you been and set the whole island on fire. Won't we look funny if the whole island burns up? Cooked fruit, that's what we'll have to eat, and roast pork. And that's nothing to laugh at! You said Ralph and Lily were chief and you don't give them time to think. Then when Ralph says something you rush off, like, like–"

He paused for breath, and the fire growled at them. "And that's not all. Them kids. The little 'uns. Who took any notice of 'em? Who knows how many we got?"

Ralph took a sudden step forward. "I told you to. I told you to get a list of names!"

Lily rounded at Ralph. "How could–"

"How could I," cried Piggy indignantly, "all by myself? They waited for two minutes, then they fell in the sea; they went into the forest; they just scattered everywhere. How was I to know which was which?"

Ralph licked pale lips. "Then you don't know how many of us there ought to be?"

Lily stomped her feet, "Ralph! You can't possibly think that–"

"How could I with them little 'uns running round like insects? Then when you three came back, as soon as you said make a fire, they all ran away, and I never had a chance–"

"That's enough!" said Ralph sharply, and snatched back the conch. "If he didn't, he didn't."

Piggy plunged onward, "And them–"

Jack turned on him. "You shut up!"

"You shut up Jack! All we are doing is arguing!" Lily's evergreen eyes had turned into emeralds with a flash much like the fire below them.

Some of the children began to tear up as the older kids' voices crescendoed louder to shouts.

"–and them little 'uns was wandering about down there where the fire is. How d'you know they aren't still there?" Piggy stood up and pointed to the smoke and flames. A murmur rose among the boys and died away. Something strange was happening to Piggy, for he was gasping for breath.

"That little 'un–" gasped Piggy– "him with the mark on his face, I don't see him. Where is he now?"

The crowd was as silent as death.

"Him that talked about the snakes. He was down there–"

A tree exploded in the fire like a bomb. Tall swathes of creepers rose for a moment into view, agonized, and went down again. The little children screamed at them.

"Snakes! Snakes! Look at the snakes!"

In the west, and unheeded, the sun lay only an inch or two above the sea. Their faces were lit redly from beneath. Piggy fell against a rock and clutched it with both hands.

"That little 'un that had a mark on his face–where is–he now? I tell you I don't see him."

Everyone looked at each other fearfully, unbelieving. "–where is he now?"

"What? He got to be here!" Lily tried desperately to surveyed around in an attempt to spot the young frightened child with a mark on his face hidden behind a rock. Her vision had started to blur colors together when in her mind she knew.

Ralph muttered the reply as if in shame. "Perhaps he went back to the, the–" Beneath them, on the unfriendly side of the mountain, the drum-roll continued.


	4. Notes/Ch4/Jack and Lily’s Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: I am canceling this fic, however, I will post everything that I ever planned for this story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I came to the conclusion of canceling this fic.
> 
> Originally, I wrote this story as a class grade. Than I actually enjoyed the book enough to create my own spin to the story. I wanted to add dept to Jack's character by giving him a background story which lead me to give Jack a sister. If anyone cared to figure out, that sister would be Lily. She was intended to be Jack's moral compass so to speak. I planned the main story to be a sort of reconciliation between the siblings. I even already wrote out several flashbacks to scatter within the story for the two to have memories of.
> 
> Also, I have read stories where those that went through trials together would make them stronger. That through grief and hardship, they can ban together to create something better and move forward towards a common goal. From what I remember from reading the original book around two years ago, it was about savagery versus civilization. I wanted to add more to that by adding a family sort of element. There plenty of 'romances' when browsing through the list, so why not family love? It's less cliche and there's always some sort of connection through those that came from the same blood relation. In fact, I wanted to add a friendship element as well.
> 
> Anyways, that was meant to be my plan, however I had lost all my motivation to create such a story. Another reason is the fact that I have moved on the other interests. I apologize if anyone had any form of interest for this story, but I don't think I will continue it. However, I will post everything that I had written already even though it is not much. This includes the few paragraphs I have down for chapter 4 and the flashback memories of Jack and Lily's childhood. Enjoy!

* * *

  **Chapter 4 - Rough Draft**

* * *

 

Finding out that someone isn't coming back, brought a new sort of feeling. Something like a crushing reality you found out that can't be undone.

Ever.

It was a cruel and unrelenting knowledge.

It brought the question everyone was thinking to the forefront of their brains, "Are we going to die too?" The question had gripped firmly above the children's heads. Always there, taunting.

You're going to die alone and nobody outside the island is going to know.

Death would think it's a funny thing for people to think about. Wouldn't it?

Time past like spilt molasses slowly dripping off the counter soon after. The hunters and gatherers did their jobs.

 

* * *

  **Jack and Lily's Memories**

* * *

 

_"What's that?"_

_"It's a bear."_

_"What's a bear? Is it suppose to look like Mr. Percival? 'Cause that doesn't look like a bear, it's too big and scary." Lily took a cautious step back eyeing the towering furry creature._

_Jack gestured dramatically at the 'bear'._

_"That's what a real bear look like."_

_"But daddy say Mr. Percival was a bear and he's small and cute."_

_"Well this is a stuffed bear."_

_"Mr. Percival is a stuffed bear too."_

_"I mean ya' Mr. Percival is a stuffed bear, but this one was alive before."_

_"It was alive?" Lily snapped her evergreen eyes at Jack before they flickered back to the supposedly used to be alive bear._

_Looking thoughtful, Jack squinted, "Now that you mentioned it, I think Father got it from one of his hunting trip a couple of months ago."_

_"Do you think it still alive now?"_

_Jack started chuckling._

_"Nope it's dead."_

_Still not looking convinced, Lily whispered, "What if it's pretending?"_

_"Well it's not." He firmly stated confidently._

_"What if it is though? How do you know it's not just waiting till no one is looking before gettin ya'?" Lily took another subtle step back aiming to put more distance between herself and the steadily frightening, mountainous figure._

_"One, cause I know, and two, cause I'm older than you."_

_"By only one year."_

_Jack gave her a pointed look. "I'll prove it to you. That the bear right there is not real."_

_"Really? How?"_

_He frowned and scrunched up his nose, while Lily still kept her eyes on the 'bear'. Suddenly, she almost jumped a foot in the air when a voice cut through the moment of silence with an "AHAA!"_

_"I'll hit it to prove it to you! If it moves than it's not real." He had a smug look of his face while looking right proud of himself._

_"Go on than."_

_"What?" Jack's topaz blue eyes had widen in astonishment._

_"You said you'll hit it. You do it. Or are you scared too." Lily's eyes flickered to Jack with a the feeling of doubt creeping up through her throat._

_"Of course I'm not scared!"_

_His eyes flashed with determination and with a deep breathe, he struck towards the 'bear'. As Jack got nearer, he started to take slow measured steps until it turned into a snail's pace. The looming brown mass jaws looked wider than it was at a distance, looking as if it was preparing to give a mighty thunderous roar. It's multiple teeth that lay within were pointed like knives that could crush bones. The claws were the length of daggers that looked sharp enough to cut through cheese as a person mesley ripping a piece of paper._

_The pale, yellow light across the room that filtered through the curtained window dimmed as it hid behind the 'stuffed bear' causing its shadow to grow over the two children. The shadow kept extending and extending till it had nearly took every spot on the wooden floor where the light had use to touch. The darkness had finally conquered the room._

_Lily bit the bottom of her lips to prevent calling her older brother back. Clenching his down and losing patience with his fear, Jack drew his leg back and swung it forward with wild abandon._

_The 'bear' suddenly groaned and swayed backwards then forwards. In what seems like anger, the looming animal leaned forward over the children._

_In a fit of build up tension, Lily lunged at her brother to pull him out. Both the red headed children sprinted away as a boom cracked and echoed throughout the hall._

**_ooOMOoo_ **

_"Come on! It'll would be fun! I'll even show you how to do it."_

_Fiddling with a piece of her ginger hair, she shifted between her short, chubby legs. She desperately didn't want to do it._

_"But I can't!"_

_"Yes, you can."_

_"No. I can't you prat."_

_"Yes, and I'm no prat. You're just being ridiculous."_

_"No! I'm terrible at this kind of thing."_

_He rolled his eye. "You just jump in and go."_

_"It's both the jumping and going part I'm not doing."_

_He kept insisting. "You could do it yourself if you put your mind into it. Remember what mum and dad say, 'chin up and take it in strides' Basically, confidence is key."_

_"But–"_

_"Lils. Chin up and take it in strides."_

_"Jay–" Lily mauled over the phrase. "I . . . fine, but you have to carry me first and not just let me drown." She stated with a pout._

_"Fine. But you ARE going to learn to swim if it's the last thing I do." Jack quickly took Lily's much smaller hand and dragged her to the beckoning vast, blue ocean._

**_ooOMOoo_ **

_"Come back here you little munchkin!"_

_Lily giggled as her hair flicker like flames and her legs flying around the corner. Her lungs felt constricted, but her heart swelled with exhilaration. Sweat glistening against her skin as they rolled off her in droplets._

_At another turn, Lily took a chance to look behind her._

_He's not there._

_Blinking she halted to a stop, nearly tripping over her own exhausted feet. With ragged breath, Lily surveyed her surroundings._

_Suddenly, Lily gave a surprised shriek as she felt arms around her middle lifting her up._

_"Gotcha! I win!"_

_"That's not fair! You cheated!"_

_"Oh. And what did I do that warrants cheating?"_

_"You snuck up on me." Lily refuted while kicking her legs._

_"Well, I say, I win. You have to do what it takes if you want to win in this day and age. The strongest on top."_

_"It's still not fair and it's rubbish." Lily whined below her breath._

_"No worries little sister. They's always a next time."_

_Huffing, "Could you at least put me down Jack?"_

_"Nope. I win, so I'm take my prize."_

_With a deadpanned voice, Lily replied, "And why, may I ask, does not putting me down have anything to with your 'prize'?"_

_Jack shifted Lily across his shoulders and glanced at her with eyes filled with mirth, "You get to praise me in all my glory, lil' Lils."_

_Lily gave a helpless sigh._

**_ooOMOoo_ **

_BOOM!_

_A blinding flash of white washed against her pale blue walls. The window clanked and clanked. The black shadows seemed to creep nearer and near after every new flash. This was what made fear consumed her. Fear was what she felt. It was suffocating. Her heart constricted tighter as she buried her shaking hands into her ears. Whimpers escaped through her trembling lips._

_BOOM!_

_All she could've done was to attempt to ignore it, but it was all futile. Her eyes felt hot with tears as they streamed down, down off her cheek and on her pillow rendering it wet. The pillow then turned cold. The noise wouldn't stop._

_It was too loud._

_Too loud._

_Much too loud._

_BOOM!_

_"Hey."_

_The young girl had felt something tugging against her comforter, but Lily absolutely made no move to see what it was. Her despair had her shutted down all of her functions. She had than begun to bright sparks through her lids. It got harder, and harder to get air to her lungs._

_BOOM!_

_Too loud._

_Too loud!_

_TOO LOUD!_

_BOOM!_

_"Hey, Lils!" The voice sounded more desperate._

_Lily forced her lungs to work and her eyes fluttered to see colors flashing before her. She peeked out from under her comforter. Two worried topaz blue eyes stared at her._

_"Are you alright?"_

_Lily shook her head as her vision started to blur. Her arms had a tremor that wouldn't stop. Her fingers turned white with her grip that had gotten tighter and tighter to her crinkling sheets._

_"Come on." Gentle had hands slowly coaxed her strained fingers loose and pulled her out from what was her safety._

_BOOM!_

_She bounded–basically tackled–at her brother like a lifeline, as a cat would out of water._

_"You can stay in my room for the night." He whispered softly while he fingered through her locks of hair. It was calming. Lily had also felt warm arms surrounded her like shields protecting her from the dreadful noise. She shutted her eyes tightly and buried even deeper into her sanctuary._

_Her big brother will protect her._

**_ooOMOoo_ **


End file.
